None of us is entitled, nor likely expects, to enjoy a life free of problems and major challenges, but it would be a relief and make us more effective if, while experiencing the normal difficulties of existence, we could be largely free of worry and anxiety.

Some problems in life are so life-altering or threatening that we cannot escape a significant emotional impact, such as the death of a loved one, a catastrophic illness, a sudden physical disability, or possible financial ruin.

But for many of our problems, even major ones, it may be possible to replace worry, fear, and anxiety with their less crippling emotional cousin, namely, the emotional and intellectual quality of “concern.”

An endless cycle of worrying, visiting “our problem” again and again, playing an eternal loop of regret of the past and/or foreboding about the future is destructive and counter-productive.

Conversely, concern about a problem implies a moderated approach coupled with the important ingredient of action, of goal-directed activity.

In fact it is the quality of action that helps turn worry into concern, because it is the beginning of finding a solution to our problems.

Not suggesting anything here that we don’t already know, if only intuitively.

But we do need to constantly remind ourselves that worry in itself does not move us forward, rather it paralyzes us, eventually making us go backwards.